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The Queen and other members of the Royal Family are supporters of Black Lives Matter (BLM), according to one of the monarch’s representatives.
Sir Ken Olisa, the first black lord-lieutenant for London, revealed the royals are in favour of the movement, which is also supported by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
In an interview with Channel 4, Sir Ken said: ‘I have discussed with the royal household this whole issue of race particularly in the last 12 months since the George Floyd incident.
‘It is a hot conversation topic. The question is what more can we do to bind society to remove these barriers.
‘They care passionately about making this one nation bound by the same values.’
Asked if the palace supports BLM, Sir Ken confirmed the answer is ‘easily yes’.
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The comments were made after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex accused the royal family of racism in their Oprah Winfrey interview earlier this year.
Meghan claimed an unnamed royal raised concerns with Harry about how dark their son Archie’s skin tone might be before he was born.
The Sussexes also suggested racism could be a factor behind the decision to deny Archie, the first mixed-race great-grandchild of the Queen, security protection or the title of prince.
The Queen later issued a statement saying that the issues raised would be dealt with privately as a family, but that ‘some recollections may vary’.
The Duke of Cambridge also defended the monarchy, saying ‘we are very much not a racist family’ soon after the interview aired.
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During the programme, called Black To Front which is to be aired at 7pm today and be produced by an all-black presenting and reporting team, Sir Ken also said the Queen had sought his advice after the Grenfell fire on whether to visit the site of the tragedy.
He said he advised the palace to go, but added: ‘I remember thinking as it all happened, it was quite scary, we did not know whether she would be booed or have things thrown at her and when she got out of the car all these people applauded.’
Buckingham Palace has previously admitted it ‘must do more’ and is ‘not where it would like to be’ in terms of diversity.
The statement followed figures being published, which revealed its proportion of ethnic minority employees stands at just 8.5%, with a target of 10% for 2022.
The Queen’s household also brought in a change to its diversity strategy in early 2021 – which pre-dates the Oprah interview – to one that actively emphasises the importance of inclusion.
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